BALTIMORE: HITTING: The leadoff spot is 2B BRIAN ROBERTS' if he can stay on the field. His recent injury history is very troubling, though his talent makes him a risk worth taking. 2B ROBERT ANDINO and 2B RYAN ADAMS would compete for time if Roberts is out. The O's best hitter last year was arguably SS J.J. HARDY. He was healthy for the first time in years and flexed his legit 30-HR power. If Roberts and Hardy stay healthy, OF NICK MARKAKIS will likely hit third and see an increase in RBI chances. OF ADAM JONES seems to have the highest ceiling of any Baltimore hitter. 3B MARK REYNOLDS will probably end up at 1B. His horrendous average cancels out some of his 40-HR potential. OF NOLAN REIMOLD revived his MLB career with an impressive end of the season. He's got a shot to start in left. 1B CHRIS DAVIS is a candidate to start at first, third or DH as sort of a Junior Mark Reynolds. C MATT WIETERS is already one of the best two-way backstops in baseball at age 25.

STARTING PITCHING: WEI-YIN CHEN pitched well enough in Japan (2.48 ERA, 1.06 WHIP in past four seasons) to become the de-facto ace of this horrible pitching staff. JAKE ARRIETA is a mediocre talent, but is good enough to secure a spot as a Baltimore starter. JASON HAMMEL hopes the switch from Coors Field will help lower his career ERA of 4.99. The highest-risk, highest-potential O's pitcher may be BRIAN MATUSZ. His 2011 line is frightening (10.69 ERA, 2.11 WHIP), but he has the raw skills and pitch repertoire to turn it around. TOMMY HUNTER came over from Texas midseason and should round out the rotation. RELIEF PITCHING: There was talk of JIM JOHNSON being converted into a starter, but he'll open the season as the team's closer. Johnson established himself as the O's best option to close after going 7-for-7 in that role last September. KEVIN GREGG would step in as the ninth-inning man if Johnson falters. He was unstable in that role last year. Gregg is a trade candidate this midseason, in which case he'd probably end up a set-up man elsewhere. Flame-throwing MATT LINDSTROM is a darkhorse for saves. He saved 23 games for Houston in 2010 before being used as a set-up man in Colorado last year. TSUYOSHI WADA brings his finesse game from Japan. He's a heady hurler who hides the ball well, but he's in for a rude awakening in the A.L. East. BRAD BERGESEN and CHRIS JAKUBAUSKAS are long relievers who may get bumped into the rotation if the young Baltimore SPs struggle again.

NY YANKEES: HITTING: Despite his decline from mediocrity into downright counter-productivity, SS DEREK JETER gets to hit atop the best lineup in baseball. Off an MVP-caliber season, OF CURTIS GRANDERSON is a true star. His average is mediocre, but his power is elite and the Yankees are letting him run when on base. After two years with a sub-.260 average, 1B MARK TEIXEIRA's talent seems to be fading. He still puts up huge power numbers playing in a bandbox. Coming off knee and thumb injuries, 3B ALEX RODRIGUEZ is a serious injury risk hitting in the middle of this lineup. 2B ROBINSON CANO will once again see as many RBI chances as anyone. He's been great in those situations the past two seasons. OFs NICK SWISHER and BRETT GARDNER offer power and SBs, respectively, though the Yankees may look to upgrade if they continue to post lackluster numbers. C RUSSELL MARTIN will get plenty of playing time now that Jesus Montero is in Seattle. Veteran slugger RAUL IBANEZ is the new DH in town, and will love hitting towards the short porch in right at Yankee Stadium. STARTING PITCHING: CC SABATHIA struggled late last year and has logged a ridiculous number of innings over the past five years. He's a top-10 starter in the majors, but is starting to pass his prime. Newcomers HIROKI KURODA and MICHAEL PINEDA will both stabilize what was a shaky rotation last year. Kuroda, 37, posted a 3.07 ERA with the Dodgers and the 23-year-old Pineda has unlimited upside, fanning 173 batters in 171 innings with Seattle last season. IVAN NOVA benefitted from nearly nine runs of support per game. He keeps the ball down often enough to thrive in the Bronx, just without many strikeouts. PHIL HUGHES' stuff has regressed greatly since his days as a top prospect. He's trying to overcome conditioning problems this offseason. MANNY BANUELOS and DELLIN BETANCES are great prospects who may get a chance to start MLB games later this season. RELIEF PITCHING: Trust MARIANO RIVERA to stay dominant until proven wrong. He was better in 2011 than he was in 2010 despite some velocity slippage. DAVID ROBERTSON has a firm hold on eighth-inning duties after an All-Star season. He's second in line for saves. RAFAEL SORIANO wasn't a total bust, as he did just fine after a rough April. He's settled into the seventh-inning role since Robertson is more trusted that he is. After Tommy John surgery, JOBA CHAMBERLAIN is aiming to be back this June. Middle reliever CORY WADE was reliable last year, and has a chance to rack up some vulture wins if he keeps going strong.

The New York Yankees certainly haven't been immune to the damage Baltimore Orioles slugger Chris Davis has done this season.

Davis looks to continue the hot hitting that has aided Baltimore's longest winning streak over its AL East rivals in 16 years as the Orioles open a three-game set at Yankee Stadium on Friday night.

After completing a four-game sweep in Minnesota with Thursday's 9-5 victory, the Yankees (46-39) have a chance to equal their season-best winning streak as they begin a stretch of 10 straight at home.

They also won five in a row May 8-12.

The four consecutive wins over the Twins followed three straight losses in Baltimore during which New York was outscored 19-8.

"We're going home for a long stretch, and we're taking some momentum with us," Thursday's winner David Phelps said. "It would've been real easy to take what happened in Baltimore and carry it over here."

Davis pounded New York pitching in the final two games of that series, hitting three homers with six RBIs to lead the Orioles (48-38) to their fourth and fifth consecutive wins against the Yankees.

The first baseman, who ranks among the major league leaders with a .327 average and 83 RBIs and tops all players with 32 homers, is 9 for 21 with five home runs and nine RBIs in his last six games versus New York.

Now he'll try to help Baltimore extend its longest winning streak against the Yankees since an eight-game run bridging the 1996 and 1997 seasons.

Davis, though, hasn't had the same type of success at Yankee Stadium, where he's hitting .228 with four homers and 17 RBIs in 27 games.

Scheduled New York starter Ivan Nova (2-2, 4.63 ERA) makes only his second start since April as he fills in for Hiroki Kuroda, who may only miss one outing due to a hip injury.

Nova struck out seven and allowed three runs over 6 2-3 innings in his last spot start, a 3-1 loss to Tampa Bay on June 23.

The right-hander is 0-2 with a 10.26 ERA in his last three starts against the Orioles. He also worked 5 2-3 innings of relief, giving up two runs in an 11-3 loss at Baltimore on Saturday.

Davis went deep off Nova in that appearance and is 6 for 16 with two homers and seven RBIs lifetime in this matchup.

Teammate Matt Wieters should be happy to see Nova again, since he's 9 for 21 with three homers and three doubles against him.

Baltimore, which dropped two of three to the last-place White Sox to open its road trip, appears to have a solid opportunity to bounce back behind right-hander Miguel Gonzalez (6-3, 3.77).

Since allowing a season-worst five earned runs over six innings against Detroit on May 31, Gonzalez has gone 4-1 with a 2.88 ERA in five starts.

He's 2-1 with a 2.70 ERA in four career starts versus the Yankees, allowing four earned runs over 13-plus innings for an 0-1 record in two starts against them this season.

He'll have to contend with Robinson Cano, who was 14 for 24 with four homers and 10 RBIs over a six-game stretch before going 0 for 4 Thursday.

Cano is hitting .410 with two homers and six RBIs in his last 10 games against Baltimore.

Although the Orioles have won six of nine in the season series, the Yankees took two of three at home in April.